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Monday, June 20, 2011

Morning Stations

My son is an early riser and the rest of the family isn't. So I have to find something (other than television) to keep him busy in the morning. Over winter break I found that leaving a "Surprise Project" in his room for him to complete in the morning is the perfect solution.

This summer my plan is to create new morning stations for him each day. The little bit of time it takes the night before to set it up pays off when I get to sleep in a bit longer. The bonus is that my son is also learning in the process!

My criteria for the 'Surprise Projects':

my son needs to be able to complete the activity 100% independently. Otherwise he comes to my room for directions or advise, which defeats my objective of sleeping in!

needs to be a quiet activity

little to no prep work for me

at least a wee bit of learning should occur

My son's criteria for the 'Surprise Projects':

has to be a surprise, "it's no fun if I know what it's going to be"

should come with a morning snack, preferably the mini boxes of cereal that I never buy.

This week our surprise projects included:

Alphabet puzzle that is self checking

Geo board wtih LOTS of rubber bands

Card Making Station for Father's Day ~ smelly markers and alphabet stamps for added interest

Coupon clipping - possibly my son's favorite task so far!

Crayola Activity Center with dry erase markers and a sheet of animals to learn to draw

Dot-to-dot (with numbers 1-50)

Estimation game and bean counting ~ who knew he could count to 235! (using 2 hundreds charts of course)

I've had a lot of fun coming up with the projects, but I wonder if I am creative enough to make something different every morning. Your suggestions are welcome!

About Me

April's passion is helping connect kids to nature. She is the lead teacher of the Balch Nature Preschool at the Fairbanks Museum in Vermont.
April has an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Education. She is a Vermont licensed Early Childhood Educator and Reading Specialist.
April and her husband, Stan, share a passion for spending time outdoors: hiking, gardening, and passing on their love of the natural world to their two young children.
Shortly after the birth of her first child, April read the book, Last Child in the Woods, which inspired her to make playing in nature an important part of raising her children.
April’s favorite season is early autumn, when the leaves just begin to turn golden colors and apples are ready for harvesting. Her family loves the local fall festivals and going for hikes to photograph the trees.